Farewell to the Grand Elder

After hiding for a day, the people pursuing them dispersed, and Lu Xuanji breathed a sigh of relief.

They continued on their way.

After traveling for ten days, they finally reached Changyuan Mountain.

The Lu Clan's former marketplace had now become the site of the Lu Clan's reconstruction.

"Greetings, Grand Elder."

Lu Xuanji saw the Grand Elder again.

When he saw the Grand Elder again, he could barely recognize him.

In the past, the Grand Elder had been one hundred and fifty years old, yet his hair had been black and his appearance exceedingly youthful, full of the vigor of a young man.

But now, the Grand Elder's head was full of white hair, and wrinkles lined his face. He seemed deeply weary. The vitality and vigor of his former days were gone; all that remained was the frailty of declining age.

The destruction of the Lu Clan had nearly broken this old man.

"Good, good. Xuanji, you're still alive. As long as you're alive, there's hope." Lu Tianyi looked at this junior, a flicker of delight passing through his eyes. "We are all old, our potential exhausted. You alone have the greatest hope. It is just a pity that the Lu Clan has fallen, and cannot provide you with much."

His words carried a sense of decline.

"Grand Elder, you are only one hundred and fifty years old, yet you are already at Foundation Establishment Layer 8. You still have hope of reaching the Purple Mansion."

Lu Xuanji clasped his hands.

The Grand Elder's aptitude was formidable. Among the older generation, his was the greatest.

Even the Patriarch's aptitude was inferior to the Grand Elder's.

That was precisely why the elders had held back Ancestor Yan Yang, leaving him the chance to escape.

"Purple Mansion is difficult, very difficult. I am confident that I can reach the Foundation Establishment Peak by one hundred and eighty, but as for becoming a Purple Mansion cultivator, that will depend on luck." The Grand Elder spoke calmly. "Eh? You are already at Qi Refining Layer 8, and your bone age is only forty. Good, good."

"You have hope of reaching Qi Refining Layer 9 by forty-five, then continuously tempering your foundation for five years before attempting the Foundation Establishment Realm before fifty."

Sensing Lu Xuanji's changes, the Grand Elder was greatly pleased.

The Lu Clan had successors.

The Lu Clan still had three Foundation Establishment Cultivators, but they were all advanced in years. The Grand Elder, Lu Tianyi, was one hundred and fifty-three; the Fourth Elder, Lu Jinwen, was one hundred and seventy; and the Seventh Elder, Lu Jinxiu, was two hundred. They did not have much time left.

Before they passed away, they had to nurture some fresh blood to support the Lu Clan's situation.

"Not only that, Ye Feixue has already reached the Qi Refining Seventh Layer as well," Lu Xuanji said.

"How old is she?"

the Grand Elder asked.

"Twenty-seven."

"Twenty-seven."

Hearing that number, the Grand Elder unconsciously frowned, a trace of envy and melancholy flashing through his eyes.

The gap between people was enormous—even greater than the gap between a person and a dog.

Twenty-seven years old, Qi Refining Seventh Layer. A Heavenly Spirit Root was terrifying indeed.

The Lu Clan had even held back her cultivation speed. If she had gone to the Danyang Sect, her progress would have been even faster.

"Forget it. She is your Dao companion, so I cannot persuade you otherwise. I can only say: keep a low profile, keep a low profile," the Grand Elder said. "Suppress it for as long as you can. Otherwise, the Lu Clan will not be able to bear the burden."

"Yes."

Lu Xuanji nodded.

To cultivate to Qi Refining Layer 9, a Heavenly Spirit Root required ten to twenty years; a Dual Spirit Root required twenty to thirty years; a Triple Spirit Root required forty to fifty years; a Quadruple Spirit Root required eighty to one hundred years; and a Five Spirit Root required at least two hundred years.

A Heavenly Spirit Root cultivated far too quickly.

"A Heavenly Spirit Root will certainly enter the Golden Core, but that is only if the foundation is solid. If the foundation is unstable, accidents may still happen." The Grand Elder said, "Strengthen her foundation more. Do not rush to attempt the Foundation Establishment Realm. She does not lack time, so temper her foundation further. Unless something major happens, she should not move about outside casually. Safety comes first."

Lu Xuanji nodded, then asked the Grand Elder about several more matters.

"We cannot return to Ziyang Mountain, and some industries must also be abandoned. We can only give up certain things in exchange for the support of the Ye Family, Wu Family, and Danyang Sect." The Grand Elder sighed as he spoke of the Lu Clan's situation.

An innocent man is not guilty, but he becomes guilty by possessing a jade; the strong are not guilty, but the weak are guilty.

If the Lu Clan were still the Purple Mansion Family it had once been, with a Purple Mansion Ancestor presiding over it, occupying more than half of Qingshui Commandery's territory and having clans great and small as vassals, there would have been no issue.

But first, the Purple Mansion Ancestor had passed away, and then Ancestor Yan Yang had attacked. With only three Foundation Establishment Cultivators remaining, not only was it impossible for them to hold their former industries, it would instead be dangerous—like a child walking through a bustling market carrying gold, bringing disaster upon the Lu Clan.

For safety's sake, they could only carve off some benefits for the Ye Family and Wu Family.

Some mines, spirit veins, orchards, medicinal gardens, and most of the population had all been ceded to those two families. Ziyang Mountain, the most valuable asset, had been looted clean by Cultivation Bandits, but it still had medicinal gardens, Spirit Fields, and an underground Level 3 High-Grade Spirit Vein. These were all immense fortunes, and in the end they had been given to the Ye Family.

The other three marketplaces had been handed directly to the Danyang Sect.

As the saying went, when a whale fell, all things came to life.

When the Lu Clan fell, the other families ate their fill.

By voluntarily yielding part of their benefits, they gave the Lu Clan a measure of dignity and gave the other families some dignity as well.

"If our Lu Clan yields these benefits, can we gain a moment to catch our breath?" Lu Xuanji asked. "When a wall falls, everyone pushes it; a broken drum is beaten by ten thousand hammers. Everyone likes to kick a man when he is down and devour an entire household. Will they spare the weakened Lu Clan? Will they give the Lu Clan time to catch its breath?"

The Grand Elder fell silent, then said, "They will spare the Lu Clan, but they will not spare it either."

"What does that mean?"

Lu Xuanji asked.

"They will spare us because those families have only just divided up some of the Lu Clan's industries, and they have not yet finished digesting them, so they will not act against us. They have also eaten some of the Lu Clan's industries, and must preserve a little face, so they will not directly act against us. They still care a little about face." The Grand Elder continued, "But some Rogue Cultivators and small families gained no benefits, so they will act against the Lu Clan. The Lu Clan remains beset by danger."

"Then who are the Lu Clan's main enemies?"

Lu Xuanji asked.

"I do not know," the Grand Elder said. "When you are strong, you have few enemies, perhaps even none; but when you are weak, you have many enemies. Enemies are everywhere."

Lu Xuanji asked further questions, and the Grand Elder answered them.

Since the Lu Clan began rebuilding, more than a hundred cultivators had arrived at Changyuan Mountain. They also had three Foundation Establishment Cultivators. Though they could not compare to those top powers, they had more than enough strength for Self-Preservation.

A Level 2 Spirit Vein had been laid atop Changyuan Mountain, enough to support the cultivation of five Foundation Establishment Cultivators and more than two hundred Qi Refining Cultivators.

The Lu Clan had suffered tremendous losses in that battle. Their goal now was no longer expansion, but to rest and recuperate, restoring their vitality.